Steve Jobs was the public face of some of the biggest tech innovations of the 21st century. But privately, he was known for his passion for Japanese culture. He was particularly fond of Kyoto and over the course of 25 years, he got to know the ancient Japanese capital well.
This is the story of Steve Jobs’ final visit to Kyoto in 2010, just one year before the Apple founder’s death.
When it came to Kyoto, Oshima Hiroshi was Steve Jobs’ man. Oshima worked as a chauffeur and a tour guide for Jobs on four trips, the last in 2010, just one year before the Apple founder’s death. Jobs would arrive with a vague idea of what he wanted to see but left the specifics to Oshima.
Over the years, the two grew close and Jobs gave Oshima his home address and phone number, urging him to call if he ever had the chance to visit the US…
On the final day of his last trip to Kyoto, he took his family for lunch at the renowned restaurant Sushiiwa. While his wife and daughter ordered the course menu, Jobs asked the owner for recommendations.
“He asked me for seasonal sushi,” remembers Ohnishi Toshiya, owner of Sushiiwa.
Ohnishi started Jobs off with flounder sushi, then squid and shrimp. When he served toro, the fatty part of tuna, Jobs suddenly went quiet. Ohnishi asked if anything was wrong.
“He asked me what I was going to serve next and I told him I hadn’t decided. He told me to keep serving toro until he asked me to stop.”
MacDailyNews Take: “All good things.” – Steve Jobs. Read the full article, “Steve Jobs in Kyoto,” here.
